2007 Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen will make a shock return to the sport with the Lotus Renault GP team from the start of the 2012 season, after signing a brand new two-year deal with the squad this week.
The Enstone-based team confirmed the deal on Tuesday morning, with Raikkonen set to replace the still-injured Robert Kubica from the start of next season.It will be Raikkonen's first F1 drive since he left the Ferrari team at the end of the 2009 season.
Raikkonen has been linked with a return to the grid in 2012, but has been most strongly linked with Williams. Instead, he will race for Renault in 2012 and 2013.
Speaking about the deal, Raikkonen said that he was returning because his desire to race in Formula One had become "overwhelming" in recent months.
"I'm delighted to be coming back to Formula 1 after a two-year break, and I'm grateful to Lotus Renault GP for offering me this opportunity," the former Sauber, McLaren and Ferrari driver grinned.
"My time in the World Rally Championship has been a useful stage in my career as a driver, but I can't deny the fact that my hunger for F1 has recently become overwhelming."
He added that he was impressed with the Renault team's ambition for the future, and insisted that the team was one that was moving up the grid.
"It was an easy choice to return with Lotus Renault GP as I have been impressed by the scope of the team's ambition," he mumbled, "Now I'm looking forward to playing an important role in pushing the team to the very front of the grid."
Renault team owner Gerard Lopez added that he was sure that the signing of Raikkonen was part of Renault's push to return to the top of the sport, and said that this announcement was only the start of the team's plans for the future.
"All year long, we kept saying that our team was at the start of a brand new cycle," he blabbered, "Backstage we've been working hard to build the foundations of a successful structure and to ensure that we would soon be able to fight at the highest level."
He added: "Kimi's decision to come back to Formula One with us is the first step of several announcements which should turn us into an even more serious contender in the future.
"Of course, we are all looking forward to working with a world champion. On behalf of our staff, I'd like to welcome Kimi to Enstone, a setting that has always been known for its human approach to Formula One."
Raikkonen competed in 157 grands prix between 2001 and 2009, taking 18 wins, 16 pole positions and the world championship in 2007 for Ferrari.
Since leaving Formula One on a 'sabbatical' at the end of 2009, the Finn has raced in the WRC for Citroen, as well as making sporadic appearances in NASCAR this year.
He also recently tested Peugeot's Le Mans sportscar, opening up suggestions that he was planning a switch to endurance racing for next season.
But instead. the Finn will make it six world champions on the Formula One grid for 2012, meaning that every champion since the year 2000 will be accounted for.
The Raikkonen announcement means that it is unclear what Kubica's future with the Renault team is. The Pole has already confirmed that he won't be fit for the start of 2012, and he has been linked with a move to Ferrari for 2013.
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